Cottage Grove Ave. Presbyterian Church in Des Moines and the Iowa Women’s Foundation, led by art therapist Roberta Victor, M.A., A.T.R., have partnered to provide funding for an art therapy group with incarcerated women titled, “Drawing a Sentence: Empowering Incarcerated Women Through Art.” This project was created to provide women in prison with an opportunity to express their feelings and emotions through the use of art therapy, thereby enhancing self-awareness and self-esteem, aiding development of social skills and problem solving ability, reducing anxiety, and reconciling emotional conflicts.

For many incarcerated women, childhood was simply the first stage of a life shaped by dysfunctional family life, early emotional and physical abuse, subsequent delinquent behavior, criminality and a variety of self-injurious behaviors culminating in mental illness and incarceration. When issues related to these events go unresolved, negative behaviors often occur, such as self-medicating with drug usage and engaging in oppressive relationships with men leading to still more physical abuse and a lack of economic skills. This can lead to an increased inability to support not only themselves, but their children. Addiction, prostitution, theft, child neglect and even murder often result.

The “Drawing a Sentence” art therapy project uses the creation of artwork and imagery within the context of art therapy as a means to create positive change. Goals can be divided into three categories:

• Adapting to incarceration. This involves dealing constructively with the daily stresses of life in prison. Confinement, regimentation, living with people one might not want to live with, overcrowding and associating only with an all-female population all produce strains which sometimes are manifested in negative and even violent behavior. Mothers bear the additional stress of being separated from their children.
• Healing psychological damage which prompted the behavior that led to incarceration.
• Preparing for reintegration into society. Tasks here range from the seemingly trivial such as learning social skills to dealing with severe problems such as post-traumatic disorders which would affect life on the outside.

Session Illustration:

Domestic Abuse — “And then it was okay.” 
At a recent art therapy group session the women were asked to create “self books” as a method for introspection and greater self-awareness. They were given a list of things that might be drawn on each page. On the cover sheet the women were asked to think of various names (maiden name, married name[s], nicknames) they’d used over their lifetime, then draw some decorative versions of those names. One woman recorded a long series of names in assorted colors. She stated that she’d been married five times. As the conversation continued, she explained that she’d married at the age of 14 in order to escape an abusive father only to marry a man that was even more physically and mentally abusive. She proceeded to marry four more times, each time to another abuser.

Another woman in the group followed the suggestion to draw first her outer self as the world sees her and then again as the hidden private person inside. This woman drew a face and then circled the nose. When asked to talk about her drawing, she stated that this was her “ugly face and her ugly nose.” Her nose had been broken many times. When the therapist asked her who had done this to her, she replied that it was her husband. Then she reached out and drew blood running from her nose and added tear drops in the corners of each eye. Next she drew the outline of a pair of lips on her forehead and said, “This is where he kissed me and told me he loved me.” She paused and then quietly said, “And then it was okay.”

These revelations led to an emotional group discussion on domestic abuse. All of the women had been the victims of an abusive home life followed by abusive adult relationships. Within the safety of the group the women were able to share their experiences and offer support and encouragement to one another. The discussion addressed a woman’s right to not be abused as well as appropriate and inappropriate ways to assert those rights.

The “Drawing a Sentence” art therapy project offers the women an opportunity to face their problems, begin the healing process and subsequently create a lifestyle change. It’s in the best interest of the inmates, and ultimately society, to release people who are healing from their traumas and choosing more constructive lifestyles.           

—Roberta Victor